


yellow beauty burns

by pacifistrun



Category: RWBY
Genre: Multi, spoilers for s3 e11 and onwards but because of how this happened a lot of things have changed so, the really obvious romantic stuff comes up later on in the story, will add relationship tags as the story goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-17
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-08 22:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6876643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pacifistrun/pseuds/pacifistrun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adam Taurus had one job: Capture Blake and bring her back to Cinder in time for the next phase of their plan. But in a moment of weakness, he hesitates and takes Yang instead. </p>
<p>The remaining members of team RWBY try their hardest to find her but fail. They spend the next few months in the aftermath of the Battle Of Beacon trying to figure out the eerie silence their villains have put upon the world, while also fearing the worst for their favourite blonde bombshell. </p>
<p>When they finally find her, Blake almost wishes they hadn't.</p>
<p>----</p>
<p>OR: A Winter Soldier RWBY au because I Hate Peace and Happiness</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act 1: Chapter 1

 

_i said that i won't run_

_i said to hold my tongue_

_and do i think aloud_

_wait, can you hear me now?_

Taurus sighed inwardly as he heard the blonde's enraged shout. Turning around, he put his hand on the hilt of his sword in preparation. She came flying with a scream.

 

Really, couldn't Blake have at least decided to shack up with half decent fighters?

 

One quick slash, and then it was over. Blake's weak cry, coupled in with the sick sound of muscle and bone being disconnected...

He wasn't going to lie to himself. He'd think back on this fondly.

Adam turned back to the task at hand, watching as Blake crawled in front of her friend. Adam didn't bother to suppress his sigh this time. His orders were to bring her alive, so he'd have to aim carefully. He allowed himself one moment of weakness to gaze upon her a last time. Before Cinder touched her... before she stopped being... _her_ anymore.

 

"Why must you hurt me, Blake?" He said, and brought his sword down for a stab to her thigh, except –

Of course. What did he expect. Or, more accurate, what did she expect? For him not to follow? He sauntered after them, looking at Blake in a _"really?"_ face. He relished in Blake's terrified look as she struggled to get away, get faster, get to safety. Then, he broke into a sprint, body slamming both of them with enough strength to throw Blake crashing through the window, the blonde being torn out of her arms at the last moment. Gambal Shroud went skittering across the stone sidewalk onto the road.

 

Blake let out a choked sob as she saw the divide. She managed to get on her elbow and weakly say, "Don't. Adam."

Glass shards stuck out of her body in uneven ways and her temple bled from where it had smacked across the pavement outside. Adam let out a mock sympathetic wince before gesturing to her friend. "You can't help her, Blake. You can't even help yourself. But I can help you. I've done it before," he crouched down to her level before continuing, "I can take care of you. I'd never do anything to hurt you, Blake. Never again."

 

She glared at him before spitting out a venomous, "Go to hell. I'll never come with you."

 

Adam growled. "You don't have a choice." He grabbed Blake roughly and tried to ignore her cutting cry of pain. Tried. And then he did something deadly.

 

He hesitated.

 

His gaze flickered between Blake, barely holding onto consciousness, and then to the girl Blake seemed oh so devoted to. After all, wouldn't it be more cutting to take that away from Blake? Blake wouldn't care if she lived or died. She would just want her teammates to be safe. Wouldn't it be a bigger scar if she had the most important thing taken from her? Adam's chest raged with a tidal wave of ragged emotions before he dropped Blake and raised his foot, slamming it into her head. She muttered a soft "no" and she fell fully limp to the floor. Adam stared down grimly before turning around and scooping up the blonde and throwing her over his shoulder, running out sight.

 

This made sense, he thought. That's why he was doing it. It made sense.

 

\---

 

When Blake first woke up, all she registered was softness. _Well_ , she thought to herself, _this was wrong._ She passed out again before she could investigate further.

When she woke a second time, it was because someone had their hands on her. She didn't have much strength but mustered whatever she did have to let out a yell and kick blindly. As soon as she did, her abdomen screamed as black spots danced across her vision. She didn't want to leave again but as much as she thought, she couldn't stop her body. She felt Adam's voice tickle her as she nodded off again, a firm reminder: _You don't have a choice._  

The third time she woke up, it was because of a light. She slowly cracked her eyes open and tried to take in her surroundings, preparing herself for the worst.

 

Instead, she was... confused. She was expecting the cruelty and harshness of a White Fang base, but she was met with the soft and dreamy look of a ... bedroom? She flicked her eyes around trying to take in as much as possible before they noticed she was awake. And then she saw it.

 

Ruby, laying in the other bed across the aisle from her. And in a chair between them, Weiss lay curled up and asleep.

 

_No._

 

_Had Adam gotten them too?_ She darted forward in her bed, a pained noise that was a mix between a groan and Yang's name got pushed out of her chest by force. Weiss blinked her eyes open slowly and then sat up completely.

"Oh! Thank goodness you're awake!" She exclaimed, her face open and relieved. Her arm was in a sling, but other than that she seemed okay. Weiss spared her a short smile before running out into the hallway and calling for someone. Blake settled against the headboard to mediate her pain. She noticed bandages all over her arms and pushed the covers off to reveal a long, soft skirt. She looked down. She was wearing a black short sleeved shirt that definitely was not hers, if she was judging by the cartoon dog that was stitched onto the breast pocket.

Weiss was followed back in a few moments later by Dr. Oobleck and another blond man. Blake felt like crying as she looked between her teammate and her professor. "Where am I? I'm safe?" She asked cautiously. She felt like if she said anything that wasn't a question, anything that wasn't strictly geared to survival, the tears would come and she wouldn't be able to stop them.

Weiss came and sat by Blake's legs on the edge of the bed. She gave a strained, reassuring smile as Oobleck began to speak in a soft voice. "Yes, child. You are. We are currently in your team mate Ruby Rose's childhood home, where we have decided to set up camp. You are safe."

Blake's mind began whirling after Oobleck mentioned Ruby. _Yang_. Where was-

The blond man in the back was looking at her intensely and Blake suddenly realized who he was, whose bed she was in. She felt her chin wobble but she tried to reign it in. She locked eyes with the man, as if daring him to say anything that wasn't good news, as if it was his fault.

 

He swallowed. "You know who I am." He said, not a question.

 

Blake didn't waver her stare. "Yes," she said quietly. "Where. Where is she."

 

He looked down. Blake felt her insides splintering to pieces.

 

Weiss levelled a cold flash on the man. "She's not _dead_ ," Weiss said, in such a tone that gave Blake the impression that this was an already existing argument. Weiss turned back to Blake and gave her a reassured look. "Yang's not dead. She can't be. We would know."

The man looked up, opening his mouth to fire something back but Oobleck quickly stepped in. "Ahem," he adjusted his glasses and looked at both Weiss and the man. "Taiyang. Weiss. Let's keep this... debate to the dining room, please, where the others are. I can fill in our friend Blake here on the nights happenings." He said, giving a barely relaxed smile. Weiss stood to her feet and marched up to Oobleck.

"Absolutely not. She's my teammate, and... and Pyrrha is our friend." She said fiercely.

Blake looked between them carefully. She noticed the pause and then Weiss turned pale. Oobleck looked down sadly at Weiss. " _Was_. Was your friend."

 

_Was?_

 

She hadn't realized she said it out loud until Weiss looked over at Blake. Despair was evident in her eyes. Blake felt her splintered pieces again, shrivelling up and turning cold.

Weiss hurried over again and took her spot again. She rubbed her own hands together from where they lay on her lap.

Oobleck looked to Blake. He had a slump in his shoulders. He looked almost given up, Blake couldn't stand it. She looked away.

 

"I'm sorry, Blake," he said. "I'll tell you what happened, and then I'll let you rest."

 

\---

 

Emerald's unkind laughter filled the room they were in. They had taken up residence in the top level of an apartment, some higher White Fang members along with the injured were taking up residence in the other suites. The battle had been over for hours now and he was still here, stuck in the living room of one unit with two insufferable teenagers.

 

"You brought the bimbo! Great! Amazing! This is on fucking _you_ ," she sneered angrily, turning on Adam and jabbing a finger into his chest. Adam felt like breaking it and feeding it to her. Emerald didn't seem to notice, or if she did, it didn't stop her rant. "The entire plan could be messed up! Fucking amazing! All because you're a fucking horndog who got his dick all hard and his brain all soft over a 16 year old! Ugh." She threw her arms up and gave him a dirty look before she stalked back to the window, crossing her arms and glaring outside at the horizon like it had personally offended her.

 

"Em, chill out. When Torchwick fucked up with the train it didn't stop her, she just went with it. It'll be fine." Mercury said in a bored tone. He was leaning against the wall next to the arch that led into the kitchen. He picked at his nails. Adam felt another surge of violence go through him.

 

Today was a day to break teenaged fingers, apparently.

 

"Don't you even start, Mercury." She muttered but didn't continue. _At least she knows when she's lost,_ Adam mused to himself. 

"It won't be a surprise to her. I called ahead to break the news. You're welcome, by the way," Emerald turned her head to look at him. "She found out in advance. Now she won't kill you in a fit of rage. Thank me."

 

Adam stared at her incredulously, about half a dozen thoughts popping up in his mind, interrupted only by the other half of the dynamic duo.

 

"I wish you hadn't Em. Seriously. Made both of us skip out on the best show of the era. What have I ever done to you?" He said in a mock offended tone. Adam trembled from barely concealed rage.

 

"Where's the girl, Adam Taurus?" All three looked up as Cinder appeared, her barely concealed anger showing in her eyes. No one had heard her come in. "I see _a_ girl. But not _the_ girl. I told you to capture that old pet of yours, and instead you bring me the pets chew toy. Where is what I asked for?"

 

Adam pushed himself off the wall and faced her. "She's strong," he reported, voice hard. "She could be useful to -"

 

"That is not what I asked. I'm going to give you one last try or the next pesky redhead with an arrow in their chest is going to be you. Where. Is. She." Deadly and calm as she stalked closer, but he could feel her fury radiating off of her like she was made of fire instead of flesh.

 

Adam bit his lip and clenched his fists, did well to tamper down the sudden rush of black rage and grief that welled up in his chest. "She got away. She tried to run with blondie here, but a Beowolf charged her. I heard their friends coming closer so I grabbed the easiest one and left," he said coolly. "As I said before, she's a strong fighter. And she'd be easier to break, easier than Belladonna."

 

Cinder studied him for a moment. "I don't believe you." She said plainly, and simply waited. Her stare unnerved Adam, so he decided a different approach might be safer.

 

"She'd be more fun to crack. She's fierce. You know that. You saw her fight with Mercury," He nodded at the kid in recognition. Mercury gave a peace sign in reply. "And she means a lot to her friends... and to Blake. Break her and you break them. Blake is a recluse. Blondie is close with everyone." He ended and pursed his lips. Stupid. He was being stupid, he shouldn't have slipped up like that. Seeing Blake again in the flesh shocked him and had elicited a lot of emotions he thought he had tucked away long ago, and-

 

"I won't forget this, Taurus." Cinder said, startling him out of his thoughts. Her detached gaze slid from Adam to the girl, who was tied up on top of the coffee table, courtesy of Mercury. She was still unconscious and her arm was twisted behind her back, legs bound together in front of her and rope tied from her neck and midsection to around the steel surface. Her wasted arm laid limp and covered in a bandage. The room still smelled vaguely of burnt flesh from the cauterization Mercury did. (He had drawn the short stick).

 

A cruel smile twisted itself onto Cinder's lips and Adam vaguely wondered what he had gotten himself into.

 

She looked up at him like she sensed it. "I'm thinking... cybernetic arm. Seems appropriate." Cinder smirked.

Mercury raised an eyebrow at that. "Aw," he said. "I won't be the special one anymore."

 

Adam was torn between utter relief and the need to inflict bodily harm.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a bit on the short side but it's more of a test thing than anything
> 
> feedback would be appreciated, and I aim for Wednesday for chapter 2
> 
> (also that's totally not Summer's old skirt that Blake is wearing because there was no other clothes in her size of course not pshh. who do you take me for.)


	2. Act 1: Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake learns some more and we get our first look at Yang after the battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: some content in this chapter could be a little messed up.  
> Mentions of Adam and Blake's past relationship and also Cinder Fall, in general. And torture (physical and psychological). Not overtly graphic on the physical scale but it's there.

Act 1: Chapter 2

 

_You'll keep it on the inside_

_'Cause that's the safest place_

_'Cause that's the safest place to hide_

 

_All of your friends are gone_

_And you were barely holding on_

_And all your friends are gone_

_Nobody hears you_

 

 

 

The quiet chatter of the dining room ceased when Blake walked in. Or at least, limped in, with Weiss at her side steadying her. General Ironwood stood up from his seat when he saw them and pursed his lips. "It's good to see you're alright, Ms Belladonna." He said quietly.

 

 _Really?_ Blake thought. _Even now, he's so infuriatingly polite._ Instead of saying that though, she opted to nod at him and leaned against the wall next to the hallway opening with Weiss at her side.

 

As she looked around at the room, the more hopeless and downcast the entire situation felt. She wasn't one for hopeless optimism but tried to retain some. At least until Ruby woke up and could do it for her. She hoped Ruby would wake up soon. It had only been a day that she was here and she already felt like she had met her breaking point. After Oobleck had explained what happened to... to Pyrrha, she had been so exhausted that as soon as he excused himself and she passed out almost immediately. Her dreams hadn't offered any solace, either. They were poisoned with red hair and yellow blood, tinged with the scent of iron, overwhelmed by her feelings, all mashed together like a trauma smoothie. Pain and anger and grief and regret blended together into the contrast of sharp alertness and total, utter, fatigue. The more she thought about it the more she felt herself slipping away. She forced herself to zero in on the details of the scene in front of her instead.

 

Ironwood, out of his strict uniform, had apparently traded it in for a hoodie that seemed a little on the small side. He didn't have his glove on and surprise vaguely registered in her mind, only thwarted by the way she saw him and Ruby's uncle leaning against each other as they spoke in quiet tones to each other. Only thwarted by the fierce ache it cut into her. She didn't let herself linger.

 

Moving on, she saw Glynda curled up in an armchair someone had pulled in from the living room. Her cape lay folded on her lap and she was gripping it tightly, like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. Oobleck sat in a wooden chair next to her and Port sat next him, weapon in his lap as he sharpened it with a distant look in his eyes. Blake guessed that the clattering from the kitchen next door was Taiyang and was proven correct when he came out a moment later with a tea kettle and cups for everyone.

 

As soon as he caught sight of her he tensed. "Okay. She's up. We're going to talk about this, right?" He said, looking around at everyone.

 

Ironwood glanced between him and Qrow quickly. "Shouldn't we wait for Ruby?" He settled his gaze on Qrow, probably expecting him to agree, but Qrow shook his head.

 

"We don't know when she'll wake up. She exerted herself pretty badly."

 

Blake closed her eyes. She felt like she was going crazy. She had just woken up, but she already felt so weary. She wanted to pinch herself to get out of this bad dream and go back her old life with her happy teammates, her happy and alive (s _he's dead but how? How could she die? She was supposed to be invincible-)_ friends, and her happy, happy, and _here, present, safe_ Yang. She knew that wouldn't happen though, knew from a lifetime of it that pinching yourself wouldn't get you out of bad situations and had long given up on it. Instead she shook her head, opened her eyes and looked at the adults warily. "What happened to Ruby? What... what happened to everyone? To..." She faltered and looked at Glynda, who sat still staring at the floor. The only movement she had done this entire time was clenched and unclenched her fists in the purple fabric of her cape.

 

Oobleck looked like he was going to put a hand on Glynda's arm but thought better of it, and instead looked at Blake. "Cinder and the White Fang attacked Vale. Chaos is everywhere. As I said before, we are in Ruby's home in Patch now. It's been deemed safe," He paused. He wasn't doing his regular almost unintelligible chat speed, and Blake felt grateful.

 

"That doesn't... why is Ruby hurt? Or overexerted?" Blake asked.

 

She did not miss the look Taiyang and Qrow shot each other. Taiyang cleared his throat and put down the cups and kettle on the table. "She just fought too hard. There are a lot of Grimm, as you most likely saw." He said. Blake narrowed her eyes at him and he steadfastly returned the stare.

 

Qrow ignored their game and said, "Also, there's someone sleeping in the guest room, so try to keep quiet for the most part." Glynda looked up sharply and shook her head. Qrow tilted his head as they had a silent argument. Blake watched with quiet confusion and a cursory glance at Weiss showed that she didn't know what they were referring to, either. They locked eyes and both girls silently promised to check it out later.

 

The unspoken disagreement ended when Ironwood cleared his throat and announced, "Perhaps we should wait for Ruby to wake up to have that conversation. At least, we'll wait another day to see her condition."

 

Glynda sighed. She turned her head to Blake, then sat upright on the plush. "There's something else. Ozpin..." She seemed unable to continue and looked to Ironwood, who worried at his lip. Before he could say anything though, Qrow spoke up. His voice had gone so scratchy, so low that Blake thought she had misheard.

 

"Ozpin is dead. Cinder killed him. She..." He trailed off. His eyes went unfocused, then he pushed back from the table abruptly and left through the back door in the kitchen. Ironwood hesitated for a moment, before following after him with an apologetic grimace to everyone.

 

Blake realized she was gaping and closed her mouth. "Did you find the body?" She asked.

 

Glynda looked up. "What?"

 

"The body. Did you find the body? If there's no body, we can't be sure he's truly gone." She explained. Blake heard Weiss make a slightly triumphant noise next to her and turned to face the girl. She was met with the sight of Weiss staring pointedly at Taiyang, who steadfastly ignored it.

 

"We didn't find his body, but we found his cane. And... I wouldn't expect to find him either. If he is alive then he will not contact us. If he's not, then... she will have his body with her, most likely." Glynda managed, and then, "For god's sake, Taiyang, stop aggressively staring at these children. It's unnecessary and frankly I don't really understand just why you're so intent on believing that Yang is truly gone. This is your daughter and you have went through enough loss. Stop it. Sit down. We are going to have a civil discussion about this and you will not glare at any more 16 year olds who dare to have hope, or you'll be ejected from the conversation altogether." She looked at Taiyang with barely concealed outrage in her eyes until he finally sunk down on a chair. Satisfied, she turned back to the two girls. “Now, Blake,” She began, shifting a to a sympathetic face. “What do you remember about last night?”

 

Even though she deep down knew this was coming it didn't stop the hurt of it all. Seeing Adam again shook her to the core, it had taken her months to recover from him enough to stop associating him to the most everyday things like her Faunus ears, or the colour red, or roses, or promises, or _softly touching hands to cheeks sliding them down to frame her neck palming at her through her shirt, she liked this, right, she liked it, of course, god she should have fucking burned that shirt --_

 

Glynda stared expectantly. _Snap out of it Blake. Snap out of it._

 

She recovered enough to cover up the nothingness in her eyes and slowly made her way to sit down on a chair. She fussed with it enough, trying to buy herself some time because, really, how was she supposed to look Weiss in the eyes, look Taiyang in the eyes, and basically say _it's my fault she is gone. I did not do enough and now she is gone_. Because that's how it was. Simple as that. Blake cleared her throat to remove those thoughts and looked between Weiss and Glynda. Tried to gather her wits. Her chest felt like the smallest wrong movement would break it and then everybody would know how fucking ruined she really was.

 

“I fought. With the leader of the White Fang, Adam Taurus,” Blake tried to ignore Glynda's sharp intake of breath and the way Oobleck's hand had immediately gone to cover Port's. She continued, “We have... we used to be close. He took my betrayal close to heart. He said he was going to 'destroy everything I loved'... and then Yang came yelling, looking for me,” She saw how Weiss immediately took on a guilty expression, saw Taiyang's face go ashen and closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see it. Bad mistake – suddenly, she was back there, on the stone floor, Yang suspended above her like time had stopped. The exact moment Blake realized something was horribly wrong, that Yang was in the wrong amount of pieces. Her eyes flew open and she busted out the rest of her sentence so she wouldn't have to hear her own miserable fucking voice talk longer than it had to. “He cut off her arm. Her right arm, I tried running with her but he caught up to us and – and he tried taking me and I thought he had, I thought he had,” She curled up and stared at a speck on the wall across from her, fully content to lose herself so she wouldn't have to fucking think anymore. She could hear herself repeating the last four words over and over again, and she knew the next step was where everything would go static and time would warp and -

 

A rude awakening came in the form of Weiss Schnee crouching in front of her and snapping fingers in her face. She inhaled sharply and came to focus on her friend. “No,” Weiss started. “No. You are not allowed to leave on us like that. We are going to – hey. Look at me. Don't drift off. We are going to find Yang. We are going to help her, and then we will destroy all of those miserable little _pomps_ that hurt our friends. Okay? Nod if you heard me.” At Blake's nod, she returned it and stood up to drag a chair next to Blake, seemingly satisfied as she sat in it. Taiyang was gone. Blake guessed he left during her minor episode but tried not to worry about it. Glynda's now soft voice cut through the silence.

 

“Your friends, Jaune, Nora, and Ren have all gone with Jaune to his family home. I'd ask for them to come here but I know that won't be agreed to, as nice as having everyone we can rounded together sounds."

 

"There are barely enough sleeping areas for everything," Port spoke up with a slight smile. He nudged Oobleck. "You saw where James was sleeping last night, right?" Both of them gave each other smug smile while Glynda rolled her eyes at the two men's antics.

 

"They will never appreciate your silly bets and jokes, you know." She said.

 

Blake, after realizing the conversation topic, tuned herself out of it, and her and Weiss sat in silence with each other. Blake tried to regulate her breathing while Weiss played with the straps of her sling. The temporary peace, however, was disrupted when Taiyang came back with Qrow and Ironwood. All three men looked varying levels of sick, Qrow looking downright like he was going to vomit or scream or both. Blake guessed that he had just found out.

 

Taiyang confirmed her suspicions. “I told them,” he said, eyes downcast. “And I- I don't know what to do. About any of this. I don't....”

 

Weiss and Blake both turned to him, the angry shock evident on their faces. “We go find her! That's what!” Weiss clipped. “We have to. She's our teammate, and our family. We love her. We have to. Right, Blake?” She looked to Blake, her eyes ablaze with confidence. Blake nodded at her and uncurled herself, sitting upright in her chair.

 

“Weiss is right. I don't know what your deal is sir, but not going after Yang is out of the option,” She clenched her jaw and looked across at everyone. “We have to help her.”

 

A small voice from the direction of the hallway said, “Help who?” Everyone started in their seats at the unexpected but certainly not unwelcome appearance of Ruby. But something was wrong.

 

Appearance. Ruby looked frail, weak. Her eyes looked sunken in (she matched with her Uncle) and red rimmed, her wrists were thin. When Taiyang rushed forward to hug her, it was like a tree next to a twig.

 

Muffled by Taiyang's shirt, Ruby repeated her question. “Help who?” She pulled back from Taiyang to take a look at everyone. “Hi, by the way. Who are we helping? Where's Yang?”

 

Qrow sighed. Blake felt like her insides were slick with ice, terrified. What if Ruby hated her? What if Ruby blamed her, too? Blake wouldn't be surprised. She deserved it.

 

Taiyang shook his head. “There's a lot to explain." He said. Ruby nodded and sat down next to Weiss.

 

"Okay, then let's hear it."

 

\---

 

Before Cinder sauntered into a situation, she generally liked to gather as much information as she could. That could explain why she currently was staying out of sight, around the corner, hidden behind large long abandoned crates in the warehouse they had temporarily taken over, and listening to the sound of Emerald's weapons smacking flesh. A non faltering force meeting something like a tidal wave.

 

Cinder wasn't easy. She knew the real reason that Taurus left the Faunus girl. She also knew that pushing that onto him wouldn't get them anywhere at all.

 

For now, she would let him believe he won. And if she had a little fun with the blonde along the way, well. That's certainly not her fault. This girl had far more interesting reactions.

 

Speaking of.

 

"Oh ho ho, you think those red eyes will scare me blondie? Not a chance." Cinder overheard Emerald hiss, followed by another slap crack of her weapon and an enraged shout from the other... conversation partner.

 

"Let me go!" She screamed, and Emerald laughed cruelly in response. A smirk found its way onto Cinder's lips, only growing when she heard Emerald suggest a gag. She had certainly come far from when Cinder first met her. The blonde girl let out another ferocious yell, interrupted by more hits from Emerald. Cinder heard the girl gasp and the slashes stopped, replaced by the low murmur of taunts. She took this moment to step out from her shadowy hiding place and slowly walk towards them. Emerald pulled back from where she had been clutching onto blonde hair with a quick yank to face Cinder. Cinder regarded her with a cold smile and stepped closer to the blonde. She had her legs and knees bound together and her left arm was attached to a chain that dangled from the ceiling.

 

"What's your name?" Cinder asked her, fully knowing what it was. That was the fun part. Playing with them.

 

The girl looked up to meet her imploring eyes. "My name is Yang Xiao Long, and my people will find me."

 

Cinder stepped closer into her space. "That is where you are wrong. First of all, let's make something clear. No one is going to help you. Your friends will not get to you in time. If, by luck, they happen across you, I will kill them all slowly while you watch," Cinder idly started unwrapping the girls bandages on her right arm while adjusting her jacket lapel with the other. Seemingly satisfied with the collar, she patted it and turned instead to grab the bundle of bandages in her left hand to burn them to ashes. The girl squirmed. Cinder was delighted. "Second of all," She paused in her dealings to put both hands on the girls collarbones, fingers spread and warm, thumb pressing into the base of her throat like a warning. "You'll refer to me as Master. That is what I am to you. Understood? Say, 'yes Master."

 

The girl dropped her voice to growl and instead said, "Die in a hole."

 

Cinder hummed. "Wrong answer." And then, her hands were wrapped around the girl's throat and squeezing tighter slowly as the seconds passed. The blonde thrashed as best as she could in her bindings and then went limp, staring at Cinder. Cinder relaxed her grip. "Alright. Let's try that again, hm? Hello. I am your master. Try to run and I will find you. Try to escape and I will stop you. Disobey, and I will punish you. Understood?"

 

The blonde shivered and closed her eyes for a moment. She mumbled something unintelligible and looked back at Cinder. Seeing the expectant look on the woman's face, she raised her voice and repeated herself: "DIE IN A HOLE."

 

Cinder's hands shot back up to wrap around her throat, but this time they lay still. Cinder started smelling smoke around the same moment that the girl started gasping. She leaned in closer so they were nose to nose. "Oh, and, one last thing. Yang Xiao Long is not your name anymore. You're going to break," Cinder tapped the girl's jaw with two fingers so they could be face to face, she didn't try to hide the hunger in her eyes. "No one will recognize you once I'm finished. How exciting."

 

The girl jerked herself out of Cinder's grasp so a good meter was between them. "I won't break." She sneered at them, jutting her chin out and glaring at Cinder. Red eyes met hers — fury meeting flame. Cinder repressed the urge to shudder. She leaned in close once more, close enough to see the sweat forming at the girl's temples from exertion, close enough to feel her puffs of breath. Fear, rage, desperation all contained in a few gasps. She chuckled lowly.

 

She couldn't wait to see her shatter.

 

"You will break," Cinder whispered quietly, quiet meant only for the two of them. "You will break. I will make you break. I will make you unknowable. I will make you mine." She reached up and thumbed the girl's cheekbone, let her fingers heat up and sizzle. The blonde flinched and let out a soft cry and Cinder turned around, satisfied. "Continue." She said simply to Emerald, then left the warehouse. Silent to everything but the sound of a blade hitting a slowly depleting aura.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really nervous about this one so again, feedback is really appreciated. tell me what you think! thanks for reading. I'm aiming for this weekend for the next chapter, but a lot of Things happen in the next one as it concludes Act 1 so I might take more time to refine it.

**Author's Note:**

> I know this chapter is a bit on the short side but it's more of a test thing than anything
> 
> feedback would be appreciated, and I aim for Wednesday for chapter 2
> 
> (also that's totally not Summer's old skirt that Blake is wearing because there was no other clothes in her size of course not pshh. who do you take me for.)


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